Polk County Public Schools
Political and government strategist Charles Canady, NASA engineer Ronald Fussell,
golf course designer Ronald Garl and citrus pioneer H.E. “Bert” Schulz have been named 2009 inductees to the Polk County Public Schools Hall of Fame. They will be honored at a June 5 event at the Lake Ashton Country Club in Lake Wales along with the 2009 Polk high school valedictorians and salutatorians. The June 5 event is invitation only.
The Hall of Fame was started in 1985 and inductees are individuals who attended Polk Public Schools and made significant professional and career contributions in the arts, business, clergy, education, entertainment, government, law, military, medicine, sports or other fields. With the induction of four new members in 2009, the Hall of Fame will have 90 members. Inductees are chosen each year from nominees submitted by the public. The Polk County School Board reviews nominations and chooses new inductees through a selection process.
Click here to view a complete list of Hall of Fame inductees. Contact the Polk County Public Schools Community Relations Department at (863) 534-0699 for further information on the Hall of Fame.
Charles E. Canady played a major role in government and politics in both Florida and Washington, D.C. from 1970 to 1990. He started out in government as a legislative and administrative assistant to the late Lawton Chiles when Chiles was in the state Senate. Mr. Canady ran Chiles’ first campaign for U.S. Senate and after a successful election became Mr. Chiles’ chief-of-staff. He was also campaign director for Senator Chiles’ re-election campaigns of 1976 and 1982. While chief of staff, Mr. Canady helped to train newly elected U.S. senators and their key staff members. In 1991, the U.S. Senate and Congress presented Mr. Canady with a 20-year service award. Following retirement from the Senate, he was a campaign, political and government consultant to corporations, trade associations and political candidates. Before his political career, he was a teacher and administrator in the Polk Public Schools. He holds degrees from Florida Southern College and the University of Mississippi. He is a graduate of Kathleen High.
Ronald Fussell’s early career was in the U.S. Air Force as a radar technician for F-4 fighter aircrafts. He later worked as a military contractor providing avionics support and technical instruction. He started his career with NASA at the John F. Kennedy Space Center as a technical instructor training engineers. As an instructor, one of his responsibilities involved the SpaceLab project. His NASA career then followed an engineering path as Mr. Fussell contributed to projects that included the U.S. Space Shuttle, the Hubble Space Telescope and a mission by astronaut John Glenn. Mr. Fussell has co-authored a report that was distributed to Congress and other space policy makers.
Mr. Fussell holds the primary inventorship for two NASA/Boeing applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for space information management products. He holds degrees from the Florida Institute of Technology, Barry University and Webster University. He has also completed all coursework in pursuit of a doctorate degree. Mr. Fussell is an Auburndale High graduate.
Ronald Garl has a 35-year career as one of the nation’s foremost golf course designers. His courses in the United States, Canada and Asia have been the sites for PGA, Senior PGA, LPGA, European and Canadian tour events. His courses have made Golfweek magazine’s list of the best 100 residential golf courses and Golf Magazine’s list of America’s Best 75 resort courses. Locally, he is the designer of Lakeland’s Eaglebrooke course. Mr. Garl currently has projects in countries that include China, Nigeria, the Dominican Republic and Panama. In 1995, the International Network of Golf organization named Mr. Garl as Golf Course Designer of the Year. In 1970, he was the youngest person ever to serve as President of the Florida Golf Association. A graduate of the University of Florida, Mr. Garl was honored with the University’s Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2003 and he was named a Gator Great by UF’s Today Magazine on two different occasions. His company, Ron Garl Golf Design is headquartered on South Missouri Avenue in Lakeland. Mr. Garl is a Lakeland High graduate.
H.E. “Bert” Schulz and his father founded the Florida Chemical Company, a Winter Haven company that is now an industry leader for producing solvents, chemical synthesis and other applications from citrus oils. Florida Chemical was the pioneer company discovering that a little-known citrus derivative could be used to reduce pollution from toxic chemicals. Florida Chemical is a foremost supplier of the derivative D-limonene, a product that is used to clean circuit boards in the electronics industry. Prior to D-limonene, environmentally damaging chlorofluorocarbons were applied to circuit boards to remove resins. Florida Chemical products are used worldwide today in cleaners, paint, sanitizers, insecticides and cosmetics. Mr. Schulz is a World War II Navy veteran, serving in the Pacific in 1944 and 1945. He has also served his community as a member of the Winter Haven Rotary, Sierra Club, National Audubon Society and the Boy Scouts of America. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and Winter Haven High.
